James Loney delivered the decisive homer in Saturday’s 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies that helped the Mets clinch the top Wild Card spot.
For the second consecutive season, the Mets are heading to the postseason. In what was another thrilling victory, Loney crushed a 426-foot bomb to put the Mets ahead for good after the Phillies had tied the game at two a piece in the previous inning.
As soon as he hit it, Loney and his teammates all knew it was leaving the park. Uncharacteristically, Loney performed one of the better bat flips you may see as he dropped the bat as if it were a microphone, looked into the dugout at his teammates before trotting around the bases.
“My emotions just took over,” Loney said. “I was in the moment. You know how big the game is. This is what you play for.” (ESPN)
The Mets first-basemen has had a couple of key hits as of late and has performed quite well over his last 15 games, providing a .292/.320/.563 batting line in 48 plate appearances.
The homer on Saturday was his biggest yet as a Met, helping the team to clinch a Wild Card spot that they scratched and clawed their way back to this season after seemingly being left for dead. Mets fans were all over Citizens Bank Park to witness their team clinch, Loney could say nothing but great things about the fans following the game.
“We have a great fan base,” Loney said. “You can see their excitement and their passion, and we play off that.”
With his recent prowess at the plate and his above average defense, it begs to ask the question if Loney would get the start over Lucas Duda in Wednesday’s Wild Card game. He is not the same threat Duda is in the lineup but has shown to be clutch as of late.
As Terry Collins ponders who will man first base, we will just leave this right here.
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